An Antidote for Disinformation

Heidi Tworek is concerned about a historical imagination so impoverished that the only comparison of the invasion of Ukraine is to Hitler and the Second World War. Such ignorance matters, particularly when Vladimir Putin has justified this invasion on the basis of extraordinarily flawed history. Learning from experts and reading some history can help us be less susceptible to online distortions.

The debate over what to do about Russia’s state-controlled media outlets has so far been framed in terms of free expression and censorship. But Vivek Krishnamurthy says we would do well to consider what measures governments and technology companies should take against these outlets in light of the international legal prohibition on war propaganda.

Wesley Wark and Aaron Shull argue that Ukraine is not a far-off war but an emblem of a fundamental shift in the world order. In this confrontational world in which the threat of major power war looms larger than at any time since the Cold War, Canada must rapidly rethink its international commitments, its military capabilities and posture, and its economic security.

Why are leaders in Russia, Iran, China and Saudi Arabia (to name but a few of the worst offenders) allowed to use American social media platforms to propagandize when they block many of those same platforms in their own countries? In this article first published in Newsweek, Courtney Radsch writes that it is way past time for these platforms to ban world leaders who engage in information warfare and censorship and their state media mouthpieces.

In 2021, CIGI organized a working group of its Global Platform Governance Network to focus on the issues of transparency and accountability of digital platforms, especially social media networks. This report by Mark MacCarthy summarizes the group’s discussions and contributes to the ongoing conversation of how to set up a flexible, agile regulatory regime.

Mar. 18 – 11:00 a.m. EDT (UTC–04:00): This Friday, join Laura DeNardis and Aaron Shull for an interactive discussion on the digital iron curtain that has descended on Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine. They will explore questions such as how digital infrastructure has become a proxy for politics and whether digital sanctions are effective or play into Putin’s playbook around control and propaganda, as well as discuss the fate of the multi-stakeholder internet governance model amid these escalating sanctions.

Find out more and register here.

Mar. 24 – 8:25 a.m. EDT (UTC–04:00): CIGI and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office will be hosting a full-day virtual gathering to disseminate intellectual property research from leading experts to further innovation and inform policy. The day begins with a keynote address by Ruth Okediji, professor of law at Harvard University and co-director of the Berkman Klein Center.

Learn more and register here.

Apr. 6 and Apr. 7 – 1:00 p.m. EDT (UTC–04:00): Register now to attend this virtual conference on health data, which will be jointly hosted by University of Waterloo and CIGI early in April. In afternoon sessions over two days, speakers will explore the intersection between health data, digital health and governance for the betterment of our society and improved public health outcomes. Featuring leading experts throughout Canada and globally, the conference aims to inform and educate, while encouraging constructive dialogue. Registration is free and open to all.

Read more about the program and RSVP here.